Getting caught in the crowd..

I did Brighton half last weekend. I got a PB, but still i could have done better. I got caught in a pack of runners (and i am talking a few hundred here) who were too close to the front and should have been further back. So mile 1-3, i had trouble breaking free, and ended up doing sprints when i could. By mile 4 going uphill, i was doing a pace faster than i intended just to try and get the time i was aiming for that point in the race. By mile 6-7 i was getting tired having used reserves up too quickly, and having to run the first half in a pretty uneven pace. As a result i didnt have much to give at the end, and yes, like i say i got a PB, but i feel, had i not got caught in the crowd, and my pace had been even, i would have done better.

It's just what happens in a crowded race, don't blame anyone else. One alternative point of view is that you were too far back and leapfrogged and impeded other runners as you burned your energy too early and paid for it later.

It's called racing. You got caught with a battle with other runners. Sometimes it can help you and sometimes it makes you make the wrong decision. Rule of thumb is that in the early stages you need to run your own race. Getting involved in a pissing competition can help in the latter stages when you need some mental help.

Of course it has. You learn to race by racing and making mistakes is the best way to learn. Even when you do PB's you can make mistakes. Positive way to look is that it means that you have an even better PB inside you. Learn to use other people to your advantage and don't let them dictate your race to you.

Happened to me at the Wokingham half 2 weeks ago but only for the first mile or so.
I lined up at the front of the sub 1.25 pen, finished in 1.24.48 so was obviously in the right ballpark. Spent the first mile going past people who were slower than 8 min miling. Don't think I was overtaken once.
I think that you have to expect that a lot of people will be over optimistic or maybe just a bit ignorant at the start.

I'm with Sussex runner here. It's a race. It's probably the biggest reason not to run the London Marathon as a race, just as an event. You'll never get anywhere near a target time.

PBs are nice, but like it or not it's the other runners you are racing. If you get a PB at the end then that's a bonus. Look at the results and see how far up the field you came. Run again next year, see if you're higher.

As others have said, it just comes with the territory with the mass participation events. At the other end of the scale with smaller local league/club races people get to know/recognise others around them and I find even when there are no predicted finish time markers, 99% of people manage to line up in a reasonable order.

I had a similar experience to you but with the Great South Run - although I knew better and had planned to start further up in my wave - but leaving home 15mins later than planned meant arriving 30mins later than planned and then spending more time in toilet queues and bag drop queues than planned. I was therefore still clambering through my wave frantically when the gun went off rather than being in position with plenty of time calmly soaking up the surroundings. I spent the first 1-2 miles weaving in and out overtaking Batman, Robin, Snow White, Roman Centurion and co, and made it to my target time by half way, but had overspent in doing so, and faded in the last couple of miles.

Like you I got a PB at the time - due to being my first 10 miler for six months - but it was an underachievement for my ability at the time. A week later - in a smaller local race on a more challenging 10mi course - I beat my GSR time by well over a minute.

In my GSR case I have myself (or my wife for not being ready on time!) to blame for starting too far back, rather than other people starting too far in front. However I have seen that happen too - last year in a charity 10K race with a rather narrow start, there were a couple of joggers in jackets and headphones etc right up the front of the sub 40 band, seemingly oblivious of everything around them, who got stampeded within about 10 seconds of the start.

Happened to me at the Wokingham half 2 weeks ago but only for the first mile or so. I lined up at the front of the sub 1.25 pen, finished in 1.24.48 so was obviously in the right ballpark. Spent the first mile going past people who were slower than 8 min miling. Don't think I was overtaken once. I think that you have to expect that a lot of people will be over optimistic or maybe just a bit ignorant at the start.

I don't think it helped you that at Wokingham the pen markers were set a long way back - the sub 1:10 marker was so far back they could have fitted in 150 sub 1:10 runners in that space. Given that everyone had supplied an estimated finish time with their entry I had expected something a bit more organised.

At the end of the day though, races the size of Wokingham aren't too bad, but bigger ones really suffer with it. If you want to run at a constant pace then the best bet is to enter smaller races and avoid ones like GSR etc. Even if they don't have full chip timing you're more likely to get a better time.

To be honest Wokingham wasn't that bad. I just thought that the fact they had asked for predicted times on entry and had set up starting areas I couldn't believe how many people lined up in the wrong place.
It wasn't like a 1.35 runner nipping up to the sub 1.30 to get a decent start which is ok. there seemed a lot of people who would be lucky to break 2 hrs that lined up in the sub 1.15 pen.

Previously bookmarked threads are now visible in "Followed Threads". You can also manage notifications on these threads from the "Forum Settings" section of your profile settings page to prevent being sent an email when a reply is made.

Runner's World is a publication of Hearst Magazines UK which is the trading name of The National Magazine Company Ltd, 72 Broadwick Street, London, W1F 9EP. Registered in England 112955. All rights reserved. Runner's World, Part of the Hearst UK wellbeing network